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30 April 2012

Filipino-Mexican singer Jessica Sanchez may have received lukewarm praises the past weeks but her fear of a shortened “American Idol” journey escapes her now as the 16-year-old slipped through another elimination.

She now joins the rest of season 11’s Top 5: Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Skylar Laine and Hollie Cavanagh.

By now, most of you have heard about the acquistion of Instagram (Instant Telegram) by Facebook for US$ 1 billion. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook said the acquisition is another milestone for the company and providing the best photo-sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook, and he knew it would be worth bringing Instagram and Facebook together.

Last week, in an attempt to explain the cause of their separation, Daniel had said, “We only had a hard time communicating because when I went… left for a month [for] Brazil, we had a hard time communicating through phone, Skype. The connection there is too long, the distance is too big. We spoke. We agreed that that was the best for the relationship. A lot of people were expecting a lot from the two of us.”

In a boost to animal welfare activists looking to get livestock out of cramped cages, Burger King will be the first major U.S. fast-food chain to give all of its chickens and pigs some room to roam.

On Wednesday, the world's second-biggest burger chain pledged that all of its eggs and pork will come from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017, hoping to satisfy rising consumer demand for humanely produced fare and increase its sales in the process.

Secret Service agents are often portrayed in popular culture as disciplined, unflappable, loyal and male. A spiraling prostitution scandal that has highlighted the dearth of women in the agency that protects the president and dignitaries has many wondering: Would more females in the ranks prevent future dishonor?

Around 1.1 million government workers will receive another salary increase one month earlier than planned, President Benigno S. Aquino III announced Sunday.

The President revealed the “substantial” salary adjustment for state employees ahead of the Labor Day celebration, saying this will be the fourth and final tranche of the implementation of the Salary Standardization Law III (SSL III).

27 April 2012

A Czech zoologist reportedly found an extinct mammal species called “Dinagat” (Crateromys aus¬tralis), a bushy-tailed cloud rat which can only be found in Dinagat Island, Southern Leyte.

In the April 18 issue of the Prague Post, Milada Rehakova narrated that her husband, Vaclav Rehak, a programmer, saw a big hairy rat creeping through the vegetation slowly early this year while visiting the Philippines.

The Ten Outstanding Public School Students (TOPS) in ceremonies held at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

Academic excellence awardees are Freddie More Pablo (Sablayan National Comprehensive High School in Occidental Mindoro), Roma Jane Hechanova (Bacolod City National High School), Geila Mae delos Angeles (Gusa Regional High School in Cagayan de Oro City) and Ella May Maano (Muntinlupa High School).

Ma. Isabel Lopez and Miriam Quiambao, representatives of the Philippines to the Miss Universe pageant in 1982 and 1999 respectively, voiced out their opposition to the Miss Universe Organization’s recent decision to allow “women who are transgender” to compete beginning next year.

The policy change was announced in a joint statement by The Gay & Lesbian Alli¬ance Against Defa¬mation (GLAAD) and the Miss Universe Orga¬nization in the US on April 10, a week after the almost 60-year-old pageant went under fire for disquali¬fying transgender Miss Universe-Canada hopeful Jenna Talackova to the com¬petition to be held on May 19, and eventually reinstating her “provided she meets the legal gender recogni¬tion requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions.”

26 April 2012

Q. Do men really go into menopause too? What are the signs and symptoms of male menopause? What is the treatment for this condition? — Mencio B., San Fernando City

A. As people grow older, there are significant changes in the amount and pattern of production of their sex hormones. The sex hormones—estrogen and progesterone, in women and testosterone, in men—are produced by the ovaries in the female and the testes in the male. They regulate the reproductive process and exert profound effects on many bodily functions. They are also responsible for the striking physical differences between men and women.

25 April 2012

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Board for Professional Teachers (BPT) yesterday announced that 13,925 elementary teachers out of 32,798 examinees (42.46 percent), 56 Accelerated Teacher Education Program (ATEP) graduates out of 305 examinees (18.36 percent) and 7,149 secondary teachers out of 28,764 examinees (24.85 percent) successfully passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) given on March 11, 2012 in 12 testing centers nationwide.

Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO), a leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, has proclaimed a new era of entertainment by placing TV at the center of the home ecosystem and breaking down boundaries between connected devices.

Half a million pesos from the Department of Education (DepEd) awaits selected public high schools in the country that continue to support and train athletes to represent the country in various local and international competitions.

DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said that the DepEd has earmarked P8.5 million as subsidy to the 17 regional schools that offer a special program in sports to enable them to effectively deliver services to student athletes who will one day stand out in competitions here and abroad.

Thirty-one year old Zamboanga del Sur high school teacher Shateen Seraña had a dream — to educate her students beyond the classroom, hone their skills in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and eventually encourage them to use what they have learned to give back to the community.

Armed with the desire to make a difference, Serana came up with a mangrove tree-planting project for her fourth year high school students.

24 April 2012

At last, the search for precise time, anywhere on the planet, is over. Featuring a new low-energy-consumption GPS receiver made by Epson, Seiko has introduced the Astron GPS Solar: the world’s first GPS solar watch that can receive GPS signals and identify time zone, time, and date data using the global network of GPS satellites.

The top five winners of Binibining Pilipinas 2012 offer various perspectives on criticisms that some of the pageant contestants have poor command of English.

Social networking sites were filled with such negative comments more than a week ago, during the Binibining Pilipinas Coronation Night, where all the 12 semi-finalists noticeably used English during the Question and Answer portion. One of the judges, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, spokesperson of the Akbayan party-list, read her question to a candidate both in English and in Filipino. The contestant, however, opted to respond in the universal language.

The directors and creative talents behind the hugely popular Ice Age movies set the pack into the most exciting film in the franchise so far, “Ice Age 4: Continental Drift” where they face a perilous adventure on the high seas.

This time, Manny, Sid and Diego face formidable foes: a crew of swashbuckling pirates. And one feisty but crochety old sloth: Sid’s own granny.

23 April 2012

As the Ultrabook wars kicked-off earlier this year, it is either you are first or you are last. If you belong in the latter, it better be good.

Save the best for last

At its recent launch at The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City, the Dell XPS 13 did not disappoint. The Dell XPS 13 delivers superb craftsmanship, durability and performance. It is the perfect combination of fashion and function.

Night workers and frequent fliers may be at increased risk of diabetes, according to a US study.

Researchers at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital said too little sleep and erratic sleep easily upset a person's circadian rhythm, or ''biological clock,'' impairing insulin secretion by the pancreas and resulting in a build-up of sugar in the blood. High blood sugar levels can trigger diabetes.

Miley Cyrus was recently rushed to the emergency room after cutting her finger with her blender.

The “Party In The USA” singer was seen leaving the emergency room Monday with her finger bandaged up. Photos are posted on the Miley fansite Miley Cyrus.bz. She was taken to the hospital by her boyfriend and “Hunger Games” actor Liam Hemsworth.

Traveling light is the new mantra of the modern traveler. The ultimate objective when packing for a trip today is to stuff as much essentials in as small a space as possible. And for longer vacations that require more space for your wardrobe, luggage companies now provide suitcases in a range of ultra-lightweight models. Surely, current airline policies governing baggage weight and size have contributed to this trend, but so has the need for speed and mobility in and around airports and across destinations. Granted, a few first class passengers still insist on porters to haul their expensive leather trunks; for the rest of us, however, practicality still trumps luxury. So whether you’re heading off for a weekend in the beach or a month in Europe, here are five basic steps to avoid packer’s remorse:

22 April 2012

In this day and age, there’s always a new distraction to prevent young people from digging into a book and getting lost in between its covers. If it’s not television catching their attention, it’s websites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and all the other hallmarks of this wired-up world.

An official of the World Health Organization-Western Pacific Re¬gion (WHO-WPR) yesterday said the Philippine healthcare system must be ready as the population of older people is expected to grow in the future.

“If there are more older people in the future, more chronic illnesses like diabetes, stroke and other health conditions and forms of disabilities such as hearing disabilities, physical disabilities and dementia, and this would entail medical care,” Dr. John Juliard Go, WHO National Officer for non-communicable diseases said in an interview during the unveiling of the exhibit on healthy ageing, the theme of this year’s World Health Day spearheaded by the WHO.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it is now in the process of forging a new partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will guaran¬tee skills training to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who will be deployed to that Middle East country.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in an interview that UAE Ministry of Labor Saqr Gho-bash Saeed Ghobash proposed the proj¬ect during his visit last week, wherein OFWs could avail of skills training.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has announced that the opening of classes for the SY 2012-2013 is on Monday, June 4.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro, through DepEd Order No. 26 series of 2012, released to all Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretaries, Bureau Directors, Directors of Services, Centers and Heads of Units, Regional Directors, Schools Division/City Superintendents, and Heads of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Schools announced the schedule of opening of classes through the official School Calendar For School Year SY 2012-2013.

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Wednesday announced that 1,439 out of 2,687 passed the Electronics Engineer Licensure Examination and 287 out of 345 passed the Electronics Technician Licensure Examination given by the Board of Electronics Engineering in the cities of Manila and Cebu in April 2012.

18 April 2012

Coco Martin proves once again that he’s not only an award-winning actor but an eye candy as well, judging from his recent feat as this year’s Sexiest Man in the country.

The Kapamilya actor dominated the 100 Sexiest Men list by entertainment site Starmometer with 29,918 votes from fans that participated in an online poll. This marks his second time to occupy the top spot, having been declared as the Sexiest Man in the Philippines in 2010.

A 53-year-old mother of two in Pasig City got the surprise of her life, finding out only after 20 days that she won P81 million in the March 25 draw of the Super Lotto 6/49, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) revealed yesterday.

The winner, who owns a neigh¬borhood store, found out about her big win at just the opportune time when she had to settle the bill at the hospital where her son had been confined.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is giving the out-of-school youths (OSY) another crack at education and improve their chances of landing a job or starting a business of their own.

According to TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva, the training program and employment opportunities for 7,000 OSYs is in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

TV host and actress Anne Curtis was in a hurry to catch the live telecast of “It’s Showtime” on Tuesday, April 17, that she decided to take the MRT again. This would be her third time to take the said public transportation.

Blogger James Hernando of Gravityymind posted some photos of Anne while inside the MRT. She was caught in one photo happily posing with a female fan, then seated with fellow passengers.

If you have to come up with a list of objects prone to abuse, the camera would definitely rank on top of the roster. These gadgets are inadvertently dropped, submerged, or haplessly tossed about by the users on a regular basis.

This is possibly the reason why manufacturers see to it that the offerings that they come out are both functional as well as durable. But often times, in the course of coming up with a hardy camera, functionality and overall effectiveness suffer. Agfaphoto’s Eclipse Explorer, tries to stand out from all the other handy digital cameras by being both rugged and functional.

Filipino-Korean Jasmine Lee has yet to officially start her work as an elected representative in Korea’s National Assembly but some Koreans are already attacking her on various issues.

Days after she won a proportional representative seat following the majority victory of the Saenuri Party in the April 11 election, some xenophobic and racist netizens have again raised issues against Lee, some of them complaining about multiculturalism in Korea.

17 April 2012

Broadcom has just rolled out a chip for smartphones that promises to indicate location ultra-precisely, possibly within a few centimeters, vertically and horizontally, indoors and out.

The unprecedented accuracy of the Broadcom 4752 chip results from the sheer breadth of sensors from which it can process information. It can receive signals from global navigation satellites, cell phone towers, and Wi-Fi hot spots, and also input from gyroscopes, accelerometers, step counters, and altimeters.

Finding the right job may not be the easiest task. In a recent survey by the Institute for Labor Studies, young people find job hunting as a labyrinthine experience. It’s a period of transition and a time for venturing and exploring unknown grounds.

It is a time for learning and a challenging time filled with doubt and anxiety. Add to the challenge, the increase in the pool of jobseekers this year. More than 480,000 will graduate from college and will join the race for jobs. What then should jobseekers look forward to?

Bursts of red, green and gold lit up the sky as stargazing friends, families and lovers bore witness to the first ever Philippines National Fireworks Festival along the Riverbanks ampitheater in Marikina on April 14.

The three newly crowned Bb. Pilipinas winners today downplayed protests following the decision of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) to allow transgender wom¬en to compete in its annual beauty pageant, saying they are adopting a "wait and see" attitude about it.

Filipino nurses may have difficulty entering the US labor market until 2020, a member of the Philippine Congress said.

“The shortage of nurses in America ended in 2010. Right now, they have ample supply of US-educated nurses,” said Rep. Arnel Ty, of the sectoral party LPG-MA, or Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers' Association.

Citing statistics from America's National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Ty said America produced close to a million nurses from 2006 to 2011.

14 April 2012

The United States Friday called off plans to send food aid to North Korea after the impoverished state's defiant rocket launch, as an aid group feared more than two million children would go hungry.

The United States had already suspended the plan to deliver 240,000 metric tons of assistance aimed at children and pregnant women as North Korea prepared what the regime called an unsuccessful bid to put a satellite in orbit.

Athlete-politician Manny Pacquiao’s latest ad for Hennessy, a popular and expensive cognac brand, is being welcomed with mixed reactions, especially since it came out shortly after he proclaimed himself as “a changed man”—one who had already turned his back on vices, including cockfighting, drinking and womanizing.

Actress Jun Ji Hyun, who rose to fame through the hit Korean film “My Sassy Girl,” got married on April 13 to her boyfriend Choi Jun Hyuk, the grandson of famous hanbok (traditional Korean dress) designer Lee Young-hee.

Before the wedding, Jun Jin Hyun met with the Korean media, wearing a dress by British fashion designer Jenny Packham.

13 April 2012

Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona said Friday that they expect the number of dengue cases to go up in three months, as the rainy season approaches.

Ona called on health workers to help achieve this year’s target of less than 100,000 dengue cases for 2012. “If we do nothing, we will be again over our heads come July and August when our public hospitals are being filled to the brim with Dengue patients and Dengue outbreaks are being reported left and right. We do not want that to happen this year. More than outdoing the number of cases in 2011, our target is less than 100,000 cases for 2012. It seems a tall order for all of us but I believe that if we work together, this can be achieved.”

North Korea’s much-anticipated rocket launch ended quickly in an embarrassing failure Friday, splintering into pieces over the Yellow Sea soon after takeoff.

Within minutes of the early morning launch, the US and South Korea declared it a failure. North Korea acknowledged that hours later in an announcement broadcast on state TV, saying its satellite hadn’t entered into orbit.

World leaders were swift to denounce the launch, calling it a covert test of missile technology and a flagrant violation of international resolutions prohibiting North Korea from developing its nuclear and missile programs.

The Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI), which sends representatives to the Miss Universe beauty pageant every year, said Thursday it will respect the decision of the Miss Universe Organization to allow transgenders to compete starting next year.

“We respect the decision of the Miss Universe Organization to change its policy regarding transgender participation in the pageant. At the moment, however, we are still awaiting the guidelines of this policy decision from the Miss Universe Organization,’’ said Tessa Mangahas, Public Relations and Corporate Communications Manager of Araneta Center, Inc.

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has announced that 3,825 out of 11,748 passed the Criminologist Licensure Examination given by the Board of Criminology in the cities of Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga last March 2012.

12 April 2012

Seven Filipino tourists will spend their vacation in jail after making a joke that there was a bomb inside the Palawan-bound plane they were in Thursday.

Officers from the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-ASG) offloaded Mohammad Lacongan and six of his friends after the crew of Air Philippines flight 2P943 bound for Palawan identified the group as having made the bomb threat while onboard the flight.

The United States Embassy in Manila has announced that starting today, April 13, new visa fees will take effect for both immigrant and non-immigrant visas to the US.

In a press statement, the embassy said that although fees for some non-immigrant visas will increase, including tourist, business visas, and student visas and others, fees for all immigrant visas, as well as those for fiancé/fianceé visas and trader/investor visas, will decrease. It explained that the reduction in the immigrant visa fees is due to a new US law that allows the US Department of State to seek reimbursement from other federal agencies such as the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.

ASUS has recently hosted a series of global seminars, which provided a stage for several new proprietary technologies, all featured on upcoming ASUS motherboards that use Intel 7 series chipsets. They include the pioneering Dual Intelligent Processors 3 with SMART DIGI+ Power Control for significant performance boosts, ASUS Wi-Fi GO! for future-proof and more convenient entertainment experiences, and Fan Xpert 2, which enables the most customizable fan controls ever offered on a motherboard.

The Pixma MG8270 multifunction printer from Canon is one of the largest MFPs I have seen so far. But this 470 x 396 x 199mm, 10.7kg office productivity tool is not the hulking and ungainly giant its size and mass would have you picture it at first glance.

Filipino-Korean actress and civil servant Jasmine Bacurnay-Lee, 35, has been elected as a proportional representative in South Korea’s National Assembly election following her party’s majority victory in the polls held on April 11.

With her win, the Davao City native has made history in South Korea as the first Filipina and naturalized Korean to become a lawmaker.

A massive earthquake off Indonesia’s western coast triggered tsunami fears across the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, sending residents in coastal cities fleeing to high ground in cars and on the backs of motorcycles.

A strong aftershock nearly three hours later sparked a new wave of panic. Indonesia’s government responded by issuing a fresh tsunami warning.

North Korea rejected international protests over its planned long-range rocket launch and said Wednesday that it was injecting fuel "as we speak," meaning it could blast off as early as Thursday.

If all goes to plan, the launch, which North Korea’s neighbors and the West say is a disguised ballistic missile test, will take a three-stage rocket over a sea separating the Korean peninsula from China before releasing a satellite into orbit when the third stage fires over waters near the Philippines.

09 April 2012

Samsung is making a serious run in the race for the most portable device in the market. And by portable, we're talking of a device that is easily carried but with features so plenty. Hence, the unveiling and immediate availability of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7.

08 April 2012

The tariff on capital equipment, spare parts and accessories for domestic manufacturers will remain at zero percent for the next five years in line with the government's bid to ease the cost of doing business in the country.

President Benigno S. Aquino III signed Executive Order No. 70 extending the zero percent duty on the equipment imported by Board of Investments (BoI)-registered enterprises located within the economic zones and freeports.

05 April 2012

Many of us likely still have camera photographs stashed away somewhere in our homes. And chances are some of those photos are probably now stuck together. Don't be bummed! They're not lost forever. Here are two ways you can separate pictures that are stuck together. Just remember these tips are not for digitally printed-out color photos but developed photos only.

04 April 2012

The Department of Labor and Employment with the participation of several private companies is currently implementing provisions of RA. 7323 entitled, “An Act to Help Poor But Deserving Students Pursue their Education By Encouraging their Employment During Summer and/or Christmas Vacations.” Under this law, employers pay only sixty percent (60%) of their salaries while the 40% is shouldered by the government and paid through Edu-cation Vouchers.

The question may sound simple, but it's rather hard to answer. The underlying considerations such as budget, companions, schedule, time constraints, and most of all, where to go are the major factors that make the question a bit complicated.

Here are some of the more popular choices where you can cool off this season:

03 April 2012

With eight days to go before the National Assembly election in South Korea, a Filipino-Korean candidate for the proportional representative seat is getting flak for allegedly lying about her education in the Philippines.

Three Filipino teachers marked a first in the history of the Microsoft Partners in Learning Regional Education Forum, winning in several categories while besting 60 other mentors in the Asia-Pacific region.

Shaleen Seraña of Tuan Datu Hadji Abdulla Niño Memorial High School in Zamboanga was hailed the country winner for her project “Mangrove Planting.” While Edalyn Olis of Lala National High School in Lanao del Norte won in the Innovation in Challenging Contexts Category for her “E-dokyo Ito” project and Estelito Mendoza of Baguio National High School was a runner-up for his project, “Learning Beyond the Classroom and Make A Difference.”

President Benigno S. Aquino III will join today at Phnom Penh, Cambodia the nine other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the opening ceremony of the 45-year-old regional bloc’s 20th Leaders’ Summit, which is expected to tackle wide-ranging issues of political and socio-economic security, particularly Pyongyang’s planned rocket launch next week.

Filipinos are a naturally superstitious people. Many believe that supernatural forces have a hold over certain events and actions. That explains why some Pinoys refrain from sweeping the house at night; they risk driving away their blessings. Or why holding coins in hand at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day is a sure-fire way of gaining good fortune.

02 April 2012

The President disclosed his love for music as a great source of joy, inspiration, and occasional solace during the launch of a new online music store for Original Pilipino Music (OPM) last Wednesday night.

Aquino graced the inauguration of OPM2Go, the country's version of iTunes where music lovers can buy Filipino music, citing its prospects to boost sales of Filipino music and combat music piracy.

A video conference among students from the Manggahan High School Pasig and the St. Mark’s Senior Secondary School in New Delhi, India, provided a medium for a discussion on religious faith and practices as part of a program to build understanding and friendship among youth from different parts of the world.

A new tour at the film studios outside London where the Harry Potter blockbusters were shot aims to champion the “unsung heroes” – from seamstresses to special effects wizards – who made the movies magical for millions.

“Warner Bros. Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter” opens to the public on Saturday, and organizers expect 5,000 visitors to file past the familiar sets, strange creatures and scale models every day.

01 April 2012

It's the end of a school day in the eastern Chinese city of Dongyang, and eager parents collect their children after a hectic day of primary school.

But that's just the start of busy times for dozens of egg vendors across the city – deep in coastal Zhejiang province – who ready themselves to cook up a unique springtime snack favored by local residents.

This proved true as the Filipino-Mexican "American Idol" contestant performed a hit Beyoncé song during the show’s Personal Icons night, March 28 (March 29, Manila time). The Top 9 had Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks as guest mentor.

The 16-year-old season 11 contender from San Diego, California continues her winning streak as she is now part of the Top 8 with Phillip Phillips, Elise Testone, Colton Dixon, Joshua Ledet, DeAndre Brackensick, Skylar Laine and Hollie Cavanagh. "Idol’s" jokester Heejun Han failed to get the judges’ "Save" and was stripped off the show during the elimination night, March 29.

With students on vacation and the Lenten season around the corner, it seems that summertime presents great travel opportunities for people nationwide. Some would go home to their respective provinces for family gatherings, while others would probably hit the country’s numerous mountains and beaches for a much-deserved break.

In the process of making travel plans, it’s possible that some would even take advantage of free transportation services available, such as what Globe telecom offers now for its prepaid users.